Tag Archives: Zen teaching

It has been a while since I have written a newsletter. I have been pouring all of my energy into studying for my final licensing exams. I passed them both! (Thank you, I will take a bow now… and a nap.) Now I feel inspired to share a Zen teaching with you in honor of the full moon.

I was told this teaching when I was in Australia. I was in a pretty yucky relationship and I was really discouraged, so I went to a Zen meditation group and ended up getting to talk to the teacher privately. After I told him what was going on he said, “Sometimes the moon is full, sometimes it’s half full, sometimes a quarter, sometimes you can’t see it at all. But it’s always full.”

He meant that no matter what’s going on in life I am whole and profoundly okay. I realized in that moment that I could trust this wisdom, so that during hard times I wouldn’t get overwhelmed or totally disheartened.

This teaching has helped me question my stories about myself. It has helped me remember what’s going on beneath the surface. As I write, another metaphor comes to mind. On the surface the waves of the ocean can be quite powerful, but at the bottom the water is always very still.

Hoping this teacher’s words help you find some degree of tranquility,
Jared